


la llorona

by ainui



Category: Coco (2017)
Genre: Angst, Bonding, Drowning, Family, Fluff, Rewrite, except not really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-16
Updated: 2018-04-16
Packaged: 2019-04-23 13:58:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14333937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ainui/pseuds/ainui
Summary: As soon as the two security guards tossed Miguel over the edge, he realized two things: he was officially related to a murderer, and he had no idea how to swim.//rewrite of the cenote scene bc ernesto got to save miguel but héctor didn't and that's stupidaka, angst leads to some story sharing and family bonding





	la llorona

As soon as the two security guards tossed Miguel over the edge, he realized two things: he was officially related to a murderer, and he had no idea how to swim. Neither did much to comfort him as he fell through the air. All his thoughts were racing, but the one that buzzed around the forefront was,  _I think I'm going to die._ And for a split second, he was sure that he did. The sting in his back made panic race through him until he broke the surface of the water. His fall slowed to a stop, and for a moment he let himself acknowledge that he was alive. Only a moment, because the next he was frantically clawing at the water around him.

By some miracle, he had managed to push himself to the surface, gasping and coughing as he thrashed around desperately. " _Alguien, ayudame!_ Héctor! Please!" Miguel whipped around in a panic, spotting a little deposit of rocks that could easily serve as solid land.  _Okay, Migue, it's not that far. You have to get there._

He managed a foot or two before his limbs started to ache from, to his dismay, the splashing around that he hoped resembled swimming. Okay, so getting to the island on its own was out of the question. He really only had one shot left. "Héctor! Help!" He had no idea if they had been thrown in the same stupid sinkhole, but it was all he had.

"Miguel!"

His eyes locked onto the source of the sound. He would have let out a huge breath of relief had it not been such a precious commodity at that point. "Héctor, hel-" his plea was cut short by a gulp of water entering his mouth. He coughed some more, feeling his body sink a little deeper under the surface- until a bony pair of arms pulled him up and started dragging him towards the small island. He clamped onto Héctor's jacket immediately, not daring to let go until he felt solid ground.

Héctor helped Miguel sit up as he took more sweeping breaths. "Hey, _Chamaco_ , you okay?"

It took Miguel a few seconds of coughing before he could actually get anything out. " _Sí, gracias_. I thought I was done for, Héctor."

The skeleton looked a bit shocked for a second, but quickly replaced it with a smile."Don't worry,  _Chamaco_ , I won't let that happen. Not on my watch."

Miguel smiled up at him. There was a moment of comfortable silence before Miguel's eyes widened and he practically threw himself at the skeleton. "Héctor, I'm so sorry! I should have listened to you, I should have listened to my family, I-"

"Woah, Miguelito, it's okay!"

"No, it's my fault we're in here, and now I can't out your photo on the _ofrenda_ , and-"

"Miguel, breathe. This isn't your fault," Héctor said softly, running a hand through the boy's hair. For a moment, he swore he was back in that room, holding a little girl. "We'll get out of this, I promise." Miguel nodded slightly, before letting out a broken laugh.

"I, uh... I never learned to swim," he started, dragging a hand through his hair, "because I was scared of the river."

Héctor listened carefully. Without a doubt, Miguel was trying to stay calm. The cave felt oddly quiet now, nothing but the sound of dripping water and their own breath filling the void. "Scared of the river?"

" _Sí,_ because of that stupid folk tale. La Llorona."

"The Weeping Woman, eh?" Héctor cracked a smile. "That old myth's still around?"

"Rosa,  _mi prima,_ used to tell me all these stories, but none really stuck the way that one did. A once beautiful woman who drowned her children. I was always scared of the way Rosa described her ghost- like a skeleton." Miguel giggled. "I don't think a skeleton would scare me anymore."

Héctor smiled fondly at the boy, before he felt a white hot plain flash through his bones. He sucked in a breath, falling away from Miguel.

"Héctor! You're... no..." Miguel's eyes were now brimming with tears as his hands tentatively hovered over the skeleton. Héctor forced a smile.

"Oh, come on _Chamaco_ , it'll take more than that to get me down. I've been through way worse." Miguel looked unconvinced. "Erm... You know, La Llorona was my wife's favorite song. I would play it on guitar, and she would sing along. She was better than de la Cruz. You would love to listen to her. Imelda had the most beautiful voice." He was all but ranting, but he couldn't stand to see Miguel look so broken over him.

"I-Imelda?"

Miguel's eyes were wide as a slowly slid a folded piece of paper out of his pocket. A photo, he realized. The boy stuck it out towards Héctor reluctantly. 

Héctor's eye flew open with recognition. How on Earth..?

"Where did you get this?"

Miguel pointed at each of the people in the photo. "That's my Mamá Coco, and that's my Mamá Imelda. Is that... you?"

"We're... family?

 

**Author's Note:**

> at that point it pretty much just goes with the movie
> 
> thanks for reading :-)


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